Otto Kubel, an Artist of Many Skills
Otto Kubel (1868-1951) was a German painter and illustrator with a wide range of creative talents. He worked with oils, watercolors, pencils, and charcoal. He painted landscapes and portraits. He illustrated books, newspapers, magazines, and maps. He designed picture postcards and board games. We should also mention his scissor art. Kubel was born in Dresden, died in Munich, and spent all his life in Germany around these two cities, with a short episode in Leipzig. He had a wife and three daughters.
Here are a few more facts about Otto Kubel:
- While most illustrators started as painters, he already became an illustrator before finishing his studies in Munich. Kubel's style can be described as late romantic with elements of naturalism, fine and clear, with loose brushes, pretty typical for narrative art at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Many of his illustrations were used for today's collectible sets of postcards and school posters. He often painted the same scene several times to create more products to sell.
- Otto Kubel was very active in several artistic communities. If there was none, he even helped to establish it. He also sang in a male singing choir and worked as an assistant judge in the district court, which further expanded his network of connections and potential customers. Kubel was an important part of Furstenfeldbruck's community, where he spent many productive years, and the city named a street after him. This decision was later questioned due to his collaboration with NSDAP, but the council decided that the name should stay.
- Today his legacy
lies mainly in illustrations of fairy tales by the Grimm Brothers.
Especially his picture cards, printed in Uvachrome technique with clear
bright colors, and the ability to present his sense for details in a
credible way, are still popular and will probably stay for many more years.
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